Warren to CFTC: Who's Really Calling the Shots on Crypto? 🎰

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pressing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to explain why it appears to be siding with companies tied to President Donald Trump and his family as it oversees prediction markets and cryptocurrencies. In a letter sent Monday to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, Warren questioned whether the agency can effectively police those markets "amidst unprecedented presidential corruption," citing a recent New York Times report that said the watchdog had been "steamrolled" by the industries it regulates. "As prediction markets balloon in size, and Congress advances legislation that threatens to loosen the guardrails on cryptocurrency, the CFTC's reported capture by industry poses severe risks to American families and our economy," Warren wrote.

The senator pointed to the growing scale of the industry Kalshi and Polymarket together hold roughly $60 billion in market value as of early 2026, and Bernstein has estimated the sector could reach $1 trillion in trading volume by 2030, according to CNBC. Warren said the agency has been hollowed out, with its workforce cut by about 25% and enforcement actions falling from 58 in fiscal year 2024 to 11 in the year since Trump took office. She tied those cuts directly to the administration's financial entanglements, noting that the CFTC approved a Polymarket request following an investment by Donald Trump Jr.'s investment firm, fast-tracked a Gemini-linked entity whose founders backed Trump-affiliated American Bitcoin, and sidelined staff who raised questions about Crypto.com, a business partner of Trump Media & Technology.

At a House Agriculture Committee hearing Thursday, Chairman Mike Selig faced bipartisan pushback over the agency's handling of prediction markets and Hyperliquid, the decentralized perpetual futures exchange, with Democrats pressing him on suspicious futures trades timed just before major policy announcements. Warren also highlighted that former commissioner Brian Quintenz, whose nomination to lead the CFTC was revoked, released text messages in which Tyler Winklevoss asked him to treat Gemini's complaint as the highest priority and offered to "raise this issue with the president himself." Quintenz refused, his nomination was withdrawn, and Selig was nominated in his place.

Warren criticized Selig for asking a judge to vacate a $5 million penalty against Gemini, founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who she noted each donated $1 million in $BTC to Trump's 2024 reelection campaign. "Taken together, these are concerning signs of a CFTC beholden to political pressures and interests of the wealthy insiders, unbound by the rule of law and failing to protect investors and market integrity," Warren wrote. She has requested responses from Selig on the agency's regulatory approach, staffing levels, and interactions with Trump-linked companies by a stated deadline.